Two members of Surrey Creep Catchers face assault charges: RCMP

RCMP say two men associated with a vigilante group in Surrey, B.C., have been charged with assault.

Reuters/Reuters

SURREY, B.C.

The Canadian Press

Published May 18, 2017Updated May 18, 2017

RCMP say two men associated with a vigilante group in Surrey, B.C., have been charged with assault.

Police say Ryan LaForge is charged with one count of assault and one count of uttering threats related to an alleged incident on April 3.

LaForge, who is the president of the Surrey Creep Catchers, posted a Facebook Live video saying he had been arrested after conducting a "citizen's arrest" of a target.

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The group targets people they allege are child sexual predators by posing as minors online, arranging to meet their targets and filming the encounters, which are then posted on the Internet.

The RCMP say the 34-year-old LaForge is also facing a separate assault charge in an alleged incident on April 19.

In a news release, police say there was a confrontation between a man alleged to have been involved in child luring and three men believed to be involved with the vigilante group.

Police say a second member of the group, 37-year-old Lance Loy, has also been charged with assault stemming from the alleged incident on April 19.

Columnist Gary Mason says British Columbia is now a divided province, with the Liberals finding support in the interior and north, while the NDP dominates in Metro Vancouver. But the latter region is growing while the interior remains stagnant, leaving a question over the Liberals' future election prospects.

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